About our Private Lesson Faculty

Bio:
Amanda Merrick is a flutist and flute teacher in the Houston area. She received her Associate of Arts degree in Music from Lone Star College and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Sam Houston State University. She has almost twenty years of flute teaching experience and strives to personalize lessons to meet students where they are and create a plan to help them achieve their goals.

Degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts in Music - Sam Houston State University 

• Associate of Arts in Music - Lone Star College
  
  Performance Experience:

• Second Baptist Church- North Campus Orchestra 2002- Present

• Lake Houston Chamber Singers Orchestra 2018- Present

Teachers:

• Lana Kuscer

• Amy Wiggs

Bio:
Beth Wiehe went to SHSU and U of North Texas for studies in music and has taught flute at SHSU, Texas State U., St Mary's University, Texas Lutheran University, Tallowood Fine Arts Academy, Houston HS for Performing and Visual Arts and many HS and MS band master classes. She has performed with Mid Texas Symphony, Beaumont Symphony, Victoria Bach Festival and other groups. She has made several recording projects and performed concerts in the U.S, Hungary, France, Israel and recently in Ireland.

Degrees:
Bachelors in Music Education - SHSU
Master of Music - University of North Texas

Performance Experience:

• Masterclasses and lessons with English flutist Geoffrey Gilbert

• Principal flute with Beaumont Symphony,

• Piccolo and flute with Mid Texas Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Victoria Bach Orchestra.

• Featured soloist with orchestra and bands. 

• Chamber music award with the National Flute Association, performance groups with Young Audiences of Houston. 

• Completed 4 CD projects with original arrangements in classical, Celtic and Jazz styles.

Teachers:

• Mary Karen Clardy (University of North Texas)

• Sergio Pallottelli

• Geoffrey Gilbert (English flutist who taught James Galway and Trevor Wye) 

• Aralee Dorough (Houston Symphony)

• Patty Mills (graduate of Paris Conservatory)

Bio:
Graduated from Texas Tech University with both a bachelor and master of music. Have been teaching private clarinet lessons for over 37 years. Had several students make all state high school band.

Degrees:

• Bachelor of Music - Texas Tech University

• Master of Music - Texas Tech University

Teachers:

• Randy Griffin

• Keith McCarty

• Bob Walzel

Bio:
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, playing oboe and marching with clarinet. Participated in CMU-PMEA Honors Band, PA Governor’s School for the Arts, All-State Band. Over time, I studied at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and University of AR at Little Rock. Performed in ensembles at McNeese, in the Lake Charles Symphony; and performed free lance work there, in Little Rock, and Houston. I have taught private lessons locally in Humble ISD and other districts since 2001.

Degrees:

• Peabody Conservatory

• University of Arkansas Little Rock
  
  Performance Experience:

• Lake Charles Symphony

• Arkansas Symphony

• Cypress Philharmonic Nutcracker 

• Freelance Performer
  
  Teachers:

• James Gorton, Pittsburgh Symphony 

• Joseph Turner, Baltimore Symphony 

• Dan Ross, Arkansas Symphony

Bio:
Scott Augustine is an artist and educator in Houston, TX. In 2022, Augustine received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois. He is an Adjunct Professor at Lone Star College Montgomery and is the soprano chair of the Kazoku Quartet, a multi-faceted saxophone ensemble bringing concerts to the people of Greater Houston.

Degrees:

• DMA - University of Illinois

Bio:

Destry Balch retired from in June 2025 after serving for five years as Humble ISD Director of Fine Arts.  Previous to this position, he taught band for 32 years.  Currently, he has a successful group of private saxophone students that he invests much time and effort.

Degrees:

• Bachelor of Music - University of North Texas

• Master of Education - Lamar University

Performance Experience: 

• Kingwood Jazz Orchestra

• Freelance Musician

Bio:

Todd Olges is a freelance musician in the Houston area who performs as a soloist, in chamber groups, as well as large ensembles. He currently is the principal trumpet for Symphony North and The Texas Medical Orchestra. Todd enjoys teaching enthusiastic students who are interested in achieving their best results and growing musically. His own private instructors have included Marvin Perry, former principal of the Indianapolis Symphony; Charles Gorham, Indiana University; Boyde Hood, The Los Angeles Philharmonic; and Mark Hughes, principal of the Houston Symphony.

Website: www.protrumpet.us

Degrees:

• Bachelor of Music Performance - Indiana University

Achievements/Performance Experience:

• International Trumpet Guild - Winner, Undergraduate Division Solo Competition 1991

• Eastern Music Festival Alumni

• Featured Soloist - Symphony North 2024

Bio:
I was born in Houston and have lived in and around the city for most of my life.

I have been a professional musician since 1989 and an instructor since 1990.

I live with my wife and children in Porter, still enjoying a busy professional career along with all of the pleasures of watching young musicians grow.

Degrees:

• University of Houston

• San Jacinto Central College

Performance Experience:

• Boomtown Brass Band

• Houston Symphony Orchestra

• TUTS (Theatre Under The Stars)

• Broadway Across America

• Local Theaters and High School Musicals

• Numerous Houston Big Bands with: Ed Gerlach, Ricky Diaz, Buddy Brock, Ned Batista, Johnny Dyson and Cary Richards

• Has performed with:  Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Johnny Mathis, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Glen Miller Orchestra, Bob Mintzer, Hugh Jackman (and more)

Teachers:

• Chester Rowell.

• Larry Slezak

• Shelly Berg

• Byron Hester

• Jeff Lerner

Bio:
Jose Fuentes is a freelance trombonist and low brass instructor in the Houston area. He performs a wide variety of musical styles including orchestral, brass quintet, trombone quartet, jazz, salsa, and worship on both tenor and bass trombone.

Jose Fuentes is currently pursuing a degree in Trombone Performance at Sam Houston State University after transferring from Indiana University Bloomington. His training has been primarily focused on orchestral trombone studying with distinguished teachers including Peter Ellefson, Ben Osborne, Michael Warny, Jason Harvey, and Joe Dixon.

As an instructor, Mr. Fuentes emphasizes mastery of fundamentals, efficient practice habits, fluency in sight-reading, and thorough preparation of solos, etudes, and orchestral excerpts for auditions, competitions, and performances.

Outside of music, Jose enjoys connecting with nature, friends, and family.

Degrees:

• Bachelors in Music Performance - Sam Houston State University/University of Indiana
  
  Performance Experience:

• Symphony North of Houston
  
  

Bio:
I have taught junior high and high school band.

Degrees:

• BM

Bio:

Will Sizemore is a private lesson instructor and freelance French horn player based in Houston. Will received his Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Music from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He then moved to Michigan, where he performed with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. Currently, Will teaches private lessons and masterclasses in Humble ISD, Clear Creek ISD, Alvin ISD, and Dickinson ISD. Will works to provide an individualized lesson approach to help students achieve their full musical potential and cultivate a lifelong appreciation of music.

Education:

• Bachelor of Music - University of North Carolina Greensboro

• Master of Music - Rutgers University

Performance Experience:

• Jackson Symphony Orchestra- 2nd horn, 2 years

• Toledo Symphony Orchestra- Substitute musician

Teachers:

• Dr. Abigail Pack

• Ms. Leelanee Sterrett

• Prof. Adam Unsworth

Bio:

Joseph Tierney has been offering private lesson in Humble isd for over 7 years. He holds a Master's Degree from Sam Houston State University and a Bachelor's degree from The Oregon Center of the Arts at Southern Oregon University. In the past Mr. Tierney was a certified yamaha instructor for all levels of drumet and is well versed in many styles including jazz and world music.

Degrees:

• Masters - Sam Houston State University

• Bachelor's - Southern Oregon University

Teachers:

• Dr. John Lane SHSU

• Dr. Terry Longshore SOU

Bio:

My name is Christopher Howell. Im a senior at Sam Houston State University majoring in Music Education. While at Sam Houston I have served as the principle Euphonium player in the Wind Ensemble for the past year. I graduated from Klein High school in 2023 and have attended SHSU since the fall of 2023. I am a member of the Tuba Euphonium ensemble at SHSU, recently performing at the South Central Tuba Euphonium Conference at UTRGV and the International Tuba Euphonium festival in Atlanta. I am also a member of Tuba Euphonium quartet at SHSU.

Teachers:

• Micheal Warny

• Dr. Henry Howey

• Dr. Adam Frey

Bio:

Layne Gilley is the Tuba Professor at Houston City College. She received her Master's in Tuba Performance from Sam Houston State University on May 11, 2019 and her Bachelor’s in Music Education in May 2011. She studied with Robert Daniel, who was principal tubist in The United States Air Force Band, Washington, D.C.

She has been teaching Low Brass for over 20 years. She has achieved many awards and honors. She made the TMEA All State Band all four years of high school and her first student to make All State was her very first student that she taught during her freshman year of college. 

She enjoys sharing her passion for music and has taught students from all age ranges and ability levels from 6th grade through college.

"I commit to giving my students individualized lessons to help them achieve their goals. My philosophy is to become better than you were yesterday, keeping the focus on individual progress. Many of my students’ have received numerous awards and honors: First Division Medals for solo and ensembles, making the Region, Orchestra, Area and Texas All State Bands, UIL Sweepstakes Concert and Marching, Drum Major, Outstanding Performance Medal at State Solo and Ensemble and many other accolades. But the moments that are most special to me are when they finally break that barrier they have been working on for weeks and seeing the practice payoff: Going through that phrase without cracking the high note, playing the high notes consistently, getting the low notes to speak immediately, hearing the improvement in their tone after putting in the weeks, or months of warm-ups with long tones, feeling the phrase move musically and see their eyes light up and the list goes on. These are the moments that I treasure."

Education:

• Master's in Music -Tuba Performance (Sam Houston State University, 2019) 

• Bachelor’s in Music Education (Sam Houston State University, 2011)

Teachers:

• Robert Daniel